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COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
By Wendel M. Sebastian1 and Richard E. McConnel2
ABSTRACT: This paper presents an advanced nonlinear finite-element (FE) program developed for the analysis
of general composite structures of steel and reinforced concrete, including composite space trusses. The elements
used to represent the concrete slab and steel beam actions are described, and in particular the ability to model
ribbed composite slabs of reinforced concrete on profiled steel sheeting is demonstrated. Attention is drawn to
the usefulness of the layering technique in determining local stress redistributions associated with progressive
through-depth cracking and yielding in the slab and steel beam elements. Concrete is represented as a nonlinear
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elastic isotropic material before cracking and nonlinear orthotropic thereafter, while steel is taken to be initially
elastic with strain-hardening capabilities after yielding. All material models are empirical in origin. A specialized
stub element with empirical nonlinear shear force-slip relationships is used at the concrete slabsteel beam
interface to permit modeling of either full or partial shear connector action. Results obtained from the use of
the program, including predicted crack patterns, are shown to compare very well with those from experiments
on reinforced concrete slabs and steel-concrete composite structures up to failure.
INTRODUCTION been a steady increase in the use of profiled steel sheeting (Fig.
1) in composite construction as both permanent unpropped
The level of success achieved in predicting load-deforma- formwork and external bottom reinforcement to the concrete
tion characteristics of steel-concrete composite structures slab. This creates a ribbed composite slab with behavior more
through finite-element (FE) analysis can be very dependent on complicated than that of a solid reinforced concrete slab; but
the adoption of suitable models to account for the effects of to the best of the writers knowledge, the extra modeling re-
cracks that spread through the concrete slab away from regions quired in layered FE formulations to represent this increased
of high local curvature. This is especially so for the deck slabs complexity has not to date been presented. In many of the
of highway composite bridges, where significant curvatures previous analyses, the properties of concrete under 2D stress
can develop in the slab under the effects of heavy concentrated states have been realistically modeled by the extrapolation of
wheel loads. data obtained from uniaxial tests.
In attempting to account for the complex morphology of The FE program described here can be used to model com-
concrete, several models have been proposed by past research- posite structures containing either solid reinforced concrete
ers for both the pre- and postcracking regimes. Jofriet and slabs or ribbed composite concrete slabs by including the ac-
McNeice (1971) used empirical moment-curvature relation- tions of the profiled steel sheeting and the concrete in the ribs.
ships to predict the response of simply supported reinforced Moreover, the program is equipped to analyze not only con-
concrete slabs without in-plane restraints. The method proved ventional composite structures, but also composite space
to be efficient, but Schnobrich (1977) later stated that this ef- trusses (comprising 3D steel trusses acting in structural unison
ficiency would rapidly disappear in the presence of significant with overhead concrete slabs) where the 3D truss action results
membrane effects (as would be the case for slabs used in com- in very complex responses to applied loads. Also, shear con-
posite construction). Arizumi et al. (1981) presented a simpli- nector action is here modeled by a novel concrete slabsteel
fied FE model for the analysis of one-way composite beams. beam interface (stub) element consisting of axial and rotational
Other researchers have put forward FE programs that assume springs. In addition, improved constitutive models for concrete
biaxial stress states in the plane of the concrete slab. A behavior, obtained (Cedolin et al. 1977) by curve fitting of
significant contribution in this field was made by Wegmuller data from tests on concrete under generalized states of stress,
and Amer (1977), who used a layered 2D element for the con- are provided. It is believed that these features of the program
crete slab and a layered one-way element for the steel beams;
but their analysis did not allow for partial steel beamconcrete
slab interaction, owing to the absence of shear connector el-
ements. Razaqpur and Nofal (1990) introduced a nonlinear
shear connector element between the tops of the steel beams
and the centroid of the concrete slab, although it is not clear
how (if at all) compatibility of rotations was maintained be-
tween nodes at the ends of each shear connector element.
In the previously reported formulations, the composite
structures under analysis contained solid concrete slabs with
embedded reinforcement. In recent times, however, there has
1
Lect., Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Univ. of Bristol, Queens Building, Uni-
versity Walk, Bristol BS8 1TR, U.K.
2
Lect., Dept. of Engrg., Univ. of Cambridge, Trumpington St., Cam-
bridge CB2 1PZ, U.K.
Note. Associate Editor: David J. Stevens. Discussion open until No-
vember 1, 2000. To extend the closing date one month, a written request
must be filed with the ASCE Manager of Journals. The manuscript for
this paper was submitted for review and possible publication on October
7, 1996. This paper is part of the Journal of Structural Engineering,
Vol. 126, No. 6, June, 2000. ASCE, ISSN 0733-9445/00/0006-0662
0674/$8.00 $.50 per page. Paper No. 14222. FIG. 1. Profiled Steel Sheeting in Composite Construction
with two stub shear connector elements. The stub elements are
initially of zero length, but are shown in Fig. 2 to be of finite where dm is an 8 1 tensor containing the nodal membrane
length for clarity. Further connection of beam-column and displacements (ui, vi from node i); df is a 12 1 tensor con-
truss elements as required for space truss analysis is accom- taining the nodal flexural displacements (wi, xi, yi from node
plished with little extra effort. i); and, using standard FE notation, Bm and Bf are, respectively,
It should be noted that, in all the analyses reported here, 3 8 and 3 12 matrices containing first derivatives of the
deflections are assumed to be small relative to the main struc- element displacement shape functions. Perfect bond is as-
tural dimensions, and so nonlinear geometric effects are not sumed between the steel and the concrete (see next section),
considered. so the above equations are used to find the in-plane concrete
For the slab element, as shown in Fig. 2, the degrees of strains and the axial strains in the reinforcement.
freedom u and v account for membrane actions, while w, Once the strains have been determined, the stresses in the
x, and y relate to flexural effects. Linear shape functions are concrete and reinforcement are found from the constitutive
used for the membrane degrees of freedom. The four-noded equations discussed further on in this paper. In this manner,
thin-plate bending element is taken from Crisfield (1983), who the generic in-plane direct and shear stresses are calculated
derived the element through removal of transverse shear and placed in a 3 1 tensor , as follows:
strains from a nine-noded thick-plate parent element with
quadratic shape functions. The four-noded element retains the x x
high order shape functions of, whilst simultaneously requiring = y = Ds y (2)
much less computer storage than, the nine-noded parent ele- xy xy
ment.
where Ds is formulated in local element coordinates. The prin-
ciple of virtual work is then applied to find the equivalent
nodal force tensors Rm and Rf , which correspond in a work
sense to the membrane (dm) and flexural (df) nodal displace-
ment tensors respectively, as follows:
Rm =
volume
B Tm dvol; Rf =
volume
zckB Tf dvol (3a,b)
1 1
2. The state of stress at the middepth of each layer is taken
as representative for the whole layer.
Kf = tck z 2ck B Tf DT Bf J d d (4b) 3. Through-depth shear stresses and strains are ignored in
1 1
deriving the stiffness matrix. Also, the edges of the slab
where tck is the thickness of the layer; DT is a 3 3 material elements, and hence the line of the beam elements, stay
tangent stiffness matrix; and J refers to the determinant of straight in plan after deformation, so there is no bending
the Jacobean matrix. of the layered beam element about a vertical axis. Hence,
Since the reference surface for the displacement functions no shear force can develop along the direction of the
does not coincide with the neutral plane of the undeformed global u displacement at the ends of the layered beam
slab, there is some degree of coupling between membrane and element. This has one important implication for the shear
connector element, as described further on.
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over the beam, probably due to the enhancing effect of the Principal directions 1 and 2 are in the plane of the slab, while
concrete in compression at the foot of the stud. In cracked principal direction 3 is normal to this plane. Cedolins nonlin-
sagging moment regions, Wright (1990) suggested that ear expressions for the bulk and shear moduli are as follows:
studs may derive additional strength if their heads are embed-
Ks
ded in regions of bending compression (note that in standard = 0.85 2.5714 0 0.15 (9a
pushoff tests, the studs are subjected to shear only). For the K0
above reasons, reduced shear stud action in cracked regions Gs
was not considered, with no apparent adverse effects on the = 0.81 2500 0 20 0.19 (9b)
G0
quality of the program results when compared with experi-
mental data. Expressions for the material moduli in the undeformed state
The standard beam-column and truss elements needed to were not proposed by Cedolin, and, failing the provision of
model the diagonals and bottom chords in space truss analysis values for these in the examples used to verify the program,
can be found in, for example, Livesley (1975). Note that the the following expressions proposed by Kotsovos (1979) were
main type of stress resultant induced in space truss diagonals used:
and bottom chords is an axial force. When this force is tensile,
the element concerned is assumed to fail if the force reaches K0 = 11,000.0 3.2( f )
c
2
(10a)
the ultimate yield value. The yielded element is removed from G0 = 9,224.0 136.0 f c 3.296 1012( f )8.273
(10b)
c
the analysis, and the stress resultants acting on the element at
its end nodes are reversed and applied as external loads to the where f c is the uniaxial cylinder compressive strength of the
remaining structure throughout subsequent analysis. Under concrete. All quantities are defined in units of Newtons and
compression, the element is assumed to fail by buckling and millimeters. Note that (9a)(9b) are valid for compressive oc-
to carry thereafter a residual load amounting to a small fraction tahedral normal strains. Where tensile octahedral normal
of the buckling load (Schmidt 1975). Note also that the pro- strains are encountered, Ks and Gs are taken as equal to K0 and
gram is equipped to handle any eccentricities which may exist G0, respectively.
at the joints of space trusses. Since the slab element assumes a biaxial formulation, the
principal strain in the third direction (3) cannot be calculated
STRUCTURAL AND REINFORCING STEEL from differentiating the elements shape functions. Instead,
MATERIAL MODELING plane stress formulae are used to calculate this strain, as fol-
lows:
Steel is modeled as an elastoplastic material with constant
elastic and strain-hardening moduli, giving a bilinear stress- c(1 2)
3 = (11)
strain relationship. Actual values of the yield stress and strain- (1 c)
hardening moduli are presented, along with other relevant de-
tails for the examples used to verify the program. where c, the updated Poissons ratio of concrete, is determined
as
CONCRETE MATERIAL MODELING c = (3Ks 2Gs)/(6Ks 2Gs) (12)
In the prefailure range of concrete behavior, isotropic elastic From (7)(12), it is clear that the quantities 0, 3, c, and Ks
constitutive relations are used, that are derived from curve fit- are all interdependent, and an iterative process is used in the
ting of data from tests on concrete under generalized states of computer program to establish the value of Ks for given values
stress. The nonlinear elastic isotropic model proposed by of 1 and 2.
Cedolin et al. (1977) for a general 3D stress state has been Having established the secant bulk and shear moduli, the
tailored to suit the present 2D application. This model was secant and tangent stiffness matrices referred to in (2), (4), and
chosen because of its relative simplicity (only the uniaxial cyl- (5) are derived following a procedure detailed by Murray
inder strength, f ,
c is required to define the material behavior) (1979).
and because good correlation with experimental data has been For the concrete within the volume represented by any
obtained from its use. Gaussian integration point in any element layer, cracking or
Cedolins stress-strain relationships are formulated in terms crushing is assumed to occur when the principal stress state
of empirical secant bulk (Ks) and shear (Gs) moduli, which reaches the strength envelope shown in Fig. 3. The envelope,
relate the octahedral normal (0) and shear (0) stresses to the obtained by closely approximating a curved strength enve-
octahedral strain invariants (0, 0), as follows: lope from Bangash (1989), is symmetric about the extended
0 = Gs0; 0 = 3Ks 0 (6a,b) positive quadrant line equally inclined to the biaxial prin-
cipal stress axes, a direct consequence of the assumption of
with the octahedral strains defined in terms of the principal isotropy.
strains 1, 2, 3 as Cracked or crushed concrete is treated as an orthotropic ma-
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING / JUNE 2000 / 665
f tu
PN = (13)
1 1,000PN(NR/90)1.5
FIG. 3. Plane Stress Strength Envelope for Concrete
where PN and PN are the updated average stress and strain
normal to the cracks; f tu is the tensile stress normal to the
cracks at the instant of crack formation; and NR is the smaller
of the angles, in degrees, between the normal to the cracks
and the axes of the reinforcing bars. The tension-stiffening
effect is assumed to be lost completely if PN exceeds 10 times
the initial cracking strain.
The tensile reinforcement stresses at the crack faces are
higher than the average values calculated within the present
analysis. This could result in a predicted artificial increase of
the reinforcement stresses beyond the yield value, resulting in
an overestimation of ultimate capacity. In order to guard
against this, Hu and Schnobrich (1990) have proposed that,
for NL layers of reinforcement existing at a cracked concrete
section, a generalized upper bound for the concrete tension-
stiffening stress can be written as follows:
NL
FIG. 4. Smeared Crack Model: Definition of Concrete Material
PN j(yj sj)cos2j (14)
Axes and Crack Stresses j=1
0.40GSCR
PAN = PAN (15)
PN/CR
where PAN and PAN are, respectively, the updated shear stress
and shear strain along the crack axes; and CR and GSCR are,
respectively, the tensile strain normal to the cracks and the
shear modulus of the concrete, both at the initiation of crack-
ing.
The material along the cracks can still sustain tensile or
compressive stresses. Under tension, the concrete is assumed
to possess its undeformed Youngs modulus (Ec), while
the following formula due to Vecchio and Collins (1986) is
used to reflect the loss of compressive strength along the
cracks:
fcm 1
= 10 (16)
f c 0.8 0.34PN/n
2f c
n = (17)
Ec
Ec
PA = 2 3 PA (18)
1 PA 1 PA 1 PA
1 FIG. 7. Crack Pattern at Base of McNeice Slab Near Ultimate
3 n 3 n 3 n Load: (a) Predicted; (b) Observed
present program, while the term measured is used to describe tion behaviors are compared in Fig. 6. Note that the program
center of the slab toward the free edges, such that the cracks
the predicted yielded region was confined to only the three near the free edges are virtually perpendicular to those edges.
elements nearest the center of the slab. The latter is due to the absence of stresses normal to the
Experimentally observed (McNeice 1967) and analytically free edges. More curiously, observe that the cracks very near
predicted crack patterns at the bottom face of the slab, which the supports form small arcs around the supports. This is
occurred at a load close to the ultimate, are shown in Fig. 7. probably due to principal bending in these regions, largely
It should be noted that since the present modeling doesnt about axes normal to the near diagonals, induced by the sup-
allow for transverse shear in the slab, only vertical cracks can port reactions.
The fixed-crack approach used here is sometimes criticized.
Also, the tension-stiffening model employed here is known to
produce results that can be mesh dependent. Fracture energy
approaches are sometimes used to avoid the mesh dependency.
However, the good agreement obtained (as described above)
points to the reliability of the present modeling.
FIG. 16. Composite Space Truss Bridge (CSTB) Tested by Sebastian and McConnel: (a) Elevation; (b) Cross Section; (c) Detail A
Repeating Unit of Ribbed Slab with ALPHALOK Steel Sheeting
The measured and predicted midspan section deflection pro- structure along the length of the girders gave rise to the pre-
files at a load level of 22.25 kN per panel are compared in dicted crushing of the concrete.
Fig. 13. There is good correlation, with the predicted deflec-
tions being slightly higher. The deflected shape of the slab Composite Space Truss Bridge Tested by Sebastian
across the girders has been correctly predicted, which suggests and McConnel
that lateral bending effects in the slab and distribution of load
between girders are both well predicted by the analysis. This example is used to verify the programs ability to
The present analysis was conducted well into the structures model a composite space truss with a ribbed composite slab
elastoplastic regime. Predicted nonlinear load-deflection be- of reinforced concrete on profiled steel sheeting. The structure
havior can be seen in Fig. 14, along with predictions from an was a simply supported composite space truss bridge of 11.1
FE analysis of the same structure by Wegmuller and Amer m span 4.3 m slab width 1.1 m depth, tested at Cam-
(1977). There is fair agreement: differences between the FE bridge University by the present writers. See Fig. 16 for es-
shape functions and the concrete material models used may be sential details and Sebastian (1996) for further details. The
culpable for the disparities. steel truss comprised tubular diagonals, continuous T-section
Fig. 15 shows, for a load level near the ultimate, the pre- top and bottom chords, and thin tubular ties laterally between
dicted failure behavior of the structure at midspan. As seen, adjacent bottom chords. The top chords were shear connected
predicted failure occurs through gross yielding of the steel to a ribbed composite slab of 150 mm thick reinforced con-
FIG. 17. CSTB: (a) Plan View of FE Mesh of Slab; (b) Elevation of FE Model
FIG. 20. CSTB: Strains in Top Longitudinal Reinforcement FIG. 23. CSTB: Bottom Chord Strain during Failure Test
ing, at different load levels, of groups of bottom chord bays. reinforced concrete. ACI Struct. J., 87(2), 199207.
Jofriet, J. C., and McNeice, G. M. (1971). Finite element analysis of
Once first yield has occurred, there is a dramatic reduction in reinforced concrete slabs. J. Struct. Div., ASCE, 97(3), 785806.
predicted global stiffness (Fig. 22), but the strain variation at Johnson, R. P., and Buckby, R. J. (1986). Composite structures of steel
the instrumented chord bay location remains virtually un- and concrete, Volume 2: Bridges, Collins Professional and Technical
changed until the bay itself goes plastic (Fig. 23). Nonlinear Books, London.
behavior occurred during the test at a lower load level than Johnson, R. P., Greenwood, R. D., and Van Dalen, K. (1969). Stud
shear-connectors in hogging moment regions of composite beams. The
that predicted by the analysis. This is thought (Sebastian 1996) Struct. Engr., London, 47(9), 345350.
to have been the result of an observed asymmetry of the struc- Kotsovos, M. D. (1979). A mathematical description of the deforma-
tural response, the cause of which was not fully ascertained. tional behaviour of concrete under complex loading. Mag. of Concrete
The asymmetry of response was deduced from observations Res., Thomas Telford, London, 31(107), 7790.
such as a 20% disparity in recorded strain from bottom chord Livesley, R. K. (1975). Matrix methods of structural analysis, 2nd Ed.,
Pergamon, Oxford, England.
bays which were symmetrically located about the longitudinal Love, A. E. H. (1988). On the small free vibrations and deformations
centerline of the structure. of thin elastic shells. Philosophical Trans. Royal Soc., London, Series
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23, the analysis failed to converge. Up to this peak load, ex- McNeice, G. M. (1967). Elastic-plastic bending of plates and slabs by
the finite element method. PhD thesis, University of London, England.
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within the loaded top chord bays adjacent to global mid-span, trices. J. Engrg. Mech. Div., ASCE, 105(4), 501513.
were predicted. Although the maximum load reached during Ramm, E. (1980). Strategies for tracing nonlinear response near limit
the actual experiment was 2,400 kN, it is evident from Figs. points. EuropeU.S.Workshop on nonlinear finite element analysis
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Sebastian, W. M. (1996). The performance of a composite space truss
The advanced FE computer program presented here pro- bridge with glass reinforced plastic panels. PhD thesis, University of
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filed steel sheeting. Internal deformations, crack patterns, and Vecchio, F. J., and Collins, M. P. (1986). The modified compression-
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